Adapter for tubular bobbins



Sept. 25, 1 E. J. COURTNEY ADAPTER FOR TUBULAR BOBBINS Filed Oct. 4, 1960 INVENTOR M m M ATTORNEY United States Patent O Filed Oct. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 60,355 8 Claims. (Cl. 242-130.1)

This invention relates to improvements in bobbin supports or bobbin holders.

In the textile industry bobbins are employed for spinning, twisting, winding, etc., of yarns. Use has been made extensively of bobbins turned in wood. These bobbins when filled are then transported as packages of yarn to machines which unwind the yarn as in a winding operation and the bobbins are then returned to the original machines for rewinding.

The bobbins used, because of the many sizes used or required in the industry, number into the millions and therefore the initial manufacture of the bobbins as well as the necessity for transporting the bobbins back and forth becomes a matter of considerable economic importance. In View of this, in order to increase the poundage of yarns tubular paper or fiber bobbins have come into use with a metal adapter which is mounted on the existing machine spindle or a new spindle is made to receive and fit the paper or fiber tube.

Thecost of converting to an adapter for supporting the tubular or paper fiber bobbins or of providing new spindles to fit the same is very great.

In view of the foregoing it is a particular object of the present invention to provide a novel method ofemploying the wood bobbins as adapters for'supporting bobbins of tubular formmade of paper or other fibersoj that the back and forth transporting of the bobbins as heretofore done can be dispensed with and the tubular paper or fiber bobbins may be discarded after use. A further object of the invention is to provide a novel adapter from the wood bobbin to receive tubular bobbins of paper or fiber material with novel means for effecting releasable couplingor locking connection between the adapter and the tubular bobbin.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel method of producing an adapter from an original Wood bobbin which may be secured upon the conventional supporting spindle whereby there is obtained the advantage of allowing the manufacturer of the yarns to use an original bobbin, if desired, by simply removing the converted adapter from the spindle.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method' of producing a new and novel adapter structure from a standard or conventional wood adapter, thereby eliminating the need of a new adapter or a new spindle for the use of the tubular paper or fiber bobbin.

The invention broadly consists in taking the standard or conventional Wood bobbin and reducing or turning down the diameter of the bottom or base part thereof and of the top end or head portion .to permit a tubular paper or fiber bobbin to'bepla'c'ed thereover. The reduced conventional bobbin, now functioning as an adapter is detachably secured'to thec'oiiventional supporting spindle' and the lowerportion' of the adapter is provided with means which will frictionally engage the bottom portion of the bobbin to secure the latter on the adapter. Thus the inexpensive paper or fiber bobbins may be used upon the converted wood bobbin but the converted wood bobbin or adapter may be readily detached or removed from the spindle to be replaced by an original wood bobbin if desired.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to a strict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a conventional bobbin formed of Wood or other suitable material, shown mounted upon a supporting spindle.

FIG. 2 is a View in side elevation of the adapter produced according to the present invention from the con upper portion 14. This spindle is of standard or conven tional form and accordingly a further and more detailed description of the same is not believed to be necessary.

The numeral 16 generally designates a conventional bobbin designed to be mounted upon the spindle 10 and which bobbin is formed of wood or similar material and comprises a bottom part 18 of cylindrical form which is joinedyto the long upper or neck portion 20 by a conical intermediate portion 22 which is circumferentially grooved .as indicated at 24. The neck portion 20 terminates at its top end in the circular head 26.

The bobbin 16 has an axial bore 28 therein for receiving the upper end portion of the spindle, the bottom 01' base portion 18 of the bobbin resting upon a flanged portion 30 of the spindle structure as shown and a means, shown in dotted lines and designated 31, is provided on the spindle for frictionally holding the bobbin against turning on the spindle.

The adapter of the present invention produced from or formed from the bobbin 16 is shown in FIG. 2 and is generally designated 32.

In accordance with the present invention the adapter 32 is formed by turning down or reducing a part of the bottom portion 18 of the conventional bobbin together with a part of the intermediate portion 22 to form the circular base 33 joined to a cylindrical part 34 which is of constant diameter through a portion of the length of the adapter. This cylindrical part 34 is joined through the short conical section 35 with the neck portion 36.

The head 26 of the bobbin 16 is also reduced slightly in diameter to form the adapter head portion 37 of a diameter suitable for close engagement with the interior of thetubular paper or fiber bobbin which the adapter is intended to support.

The cylindrical portion 34 is also given a suitable diameter for receiving the lower end of the tubular paper or fiber bobbin and in this cylindrical portion suitable radial bores 38 are formed to receive the bullet catches 39. Each of these bullet catches is of well known construction and consists of a spring encasing socket 40 which is introduced into the bore 38 so as to be flush at its outer end with the outer surface of the portion 34 with the spring projected button or bullet 41 extending beyond the surface of the portion 34 as illustrated.

The reduced or cylindrical portion 34 of the adapter is also drilled radially at 42 to receive a set screw 43 Patented Sept. 25, 1962 which is adapted to extend into the bore or axial passage 44 of the adapter whereby when the adapter is placed upon the supporting spindle it may be securely fastened thereto by engagement of the set screw with the spindle.

The numeral 45 generally designates a type of disposable or expendable tubular bobbin. Such bobbins are formed of paper or other suitable fiber and the top end thereof is inwardly rolled or otherwise flanged as indicated at 46 to strengthen or rigidify the same. The lower or bottom end 47 has secured therearound a stiifening or reinforcing band 48.

The overall diameter of the portion 34 of the adapter is such as to permit the banded bottom end of the tubular bobbin to slide thereover as shown in FIG. 4 and the bottom end of the bobbin rests upon the flange or circular base portion 33 of the adapter as shown.

The width of the reinforcing band 48 of the bobbin and the placement of the catches 39 in the cylindrical lower portion 34 of the adapter are related so that when the band 48 rests upon the flanged bottom 33 of the adapter the band 48 on the inner side of the bobbin will lie below the projecting bullets of the fasteners so that the bobbin will be effectively held against any up and down movement on the adapter.

Also, it will be seen upon reference to FIG. 4 that the diameter of the head 37 of the adapter is such as to fit relatively snugly in the upper part of the tubular bobbin. The bobbin 45 here shown and other bobbins designed to be placed upon the adapter 32 have a slight taper from the bottom to the top end and accordingly the diameters of the cylindrical lower portion 34 of the adapter and of the head 37 are adjusted in the operation of reducing the original bobbin, so as to snugly engage the inner surface of the tubular bobbin in the manner shown.

As is also shown in FIG. 4, when the tubular bobbin 45 is in position the head 37 will be in engagement with the wall of the bobbin near the top of the latter and accordingly the bobbin will be stabilized by being engaged both near the top and at the bottom against any wobbling or loose motion on the adapter as the bobbin and adapter are rotated during the winding of the yarn on the bobbin.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided by the present invention a novel method by which the innumerable present wood bobbins may be converted into new and novel adapters at a relatively insignificant cost as compared with the cost of manufacturing metal adapters for use on existing spindles or of manufacturing new spindles to receive the paper or fiber tube bobbins used.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents, are therefore intended to be embraced.

by those claims.

I claim: 1. The method of producing an adapter for a tubular 4 bobbin which comprises taking a conventional bobbin and reducing the major diameter thereof to a size to receive a tubular bobbin and providing the adapter so produced with means engagable by a tubular bobbin to maintain the latter in position thereon.

2. The method of producing an adapter for a disposa'ble tubular bobbin which comprises taking a conventional non-metallic bobbin and reducing an end portion thereof to a size to receive the bottom end of a disposable tubular bobbin and mounting in the said reduced end portion friction latching elements in a position to engage the inner surface of the said bottom end of a tubular bobbin placed on the adapter.

3. An adapter for mounting a tubular bobbin upon a spindle, said adapter comprising an elongate body having a top and a bottom end and having a longitudinal bore for receiving a supporting spindle, said bottom comprising a straight cylindrical portion joined to an upwardly tapering portion, said tapering portion joining an elongate neck portion terminating at the top end in a circular head of larger diameter than said neck portion, means at the bottom of the cylindrical portion for supporting a tubular bob-bin placed on the adapter, and means carried by the cylindrical portion for securing a cylindrical bobbin on the adapter.

4. The invention according to claim 3, wherein the penultimate means comprises an annular flange around the bottom of said cylindrical portion.

5. The invention according to claim 3, wherein the last means comprises yieldable latching elements projecting from the surface of said cylindrical portion for frictional engagement against the inner surface of the tubular bobbin.

6. For use with an elongated disposable tubular bobbin having an inside bottom end flange; an adapter comprising a one piece elongate body having a top end and a bottom end and having an axial bore extending from the bottom end, the body having a cylindrical bottom end portion of substantial length and of a diameter to enter the bottom end of the tubular bobbin, the body having a circular head at the top end adapted to position in the upper end portion of the bobbin, and yieldable means carried by the cylindrical bottom end for engagement over the said bottom end flange of a tubular bobbin mounted on the adapter to hold the bobbin in position on the adapter.

7. The invention according to claim 6, wherein the said yieldable means comprises bullet latches having a wide surface, and biasing means normally maintaining said latches projecting outwardly of said cylindrical bottom end portion.

8. The invention according to claim 6, wherein said cylindrical bottom end rises from a bottom flange of a diameter to be engaged by the bottom end of the bobbin for the support of the bobbin thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 667,849 Morse Feb. 12, 1901 1,110,283 Beston Sept. 8, 1914 1,259,448 Reynolds Mar. 12, 1918 2,860,838 Keith Nov. 18, 1958 

